Back Attracting Commercial Business

I own a full service insurance agency however, most of my business consists of auto and homeowners insurance. One of my goals for 2007 is to increase my commercial business but I am not sure the best way to go about this. I have tried direct mail, radio, and even good old fashion cold calling but nothing seems to work. If you are a successful commercial agent what are you doing to attract this segment?

Have you tried networking? Chamber of Commerce, Rotary etc?

This may not entirely apply since we are an Aviation and Aerospace Specialty Brokerage however we have built a $15mm Commercial book in 3 Years and 3 Months time. Although a specialty practice may allow for some access to information not easily available in a general practice, I feel strongly that the basic principals may have at least some relevance in other lines of business as well. This a very simplified description of our process however the logic generally flows as follows: 1.) Learn your market. 2.) Choose the class of business you want to put on your book. 3.) Choose a minimum target premium level. 4.) Research and identify the risks in that class that also meet or exceed that target premium level. 5.) Compile a list of 15 to 20 of the most desirable target accounts from the above list. 6.) Research and identify the decision makers at each of those risks. 7.) Learn as much as you can about each risk such as who their broker is, their renewal dates, who their carrier is and their estimated premium. 8.) Try to determine any problems or issues they may have with their current program or by using the information in number 7 to determine commonly known problems or issues. 9.) Develop solutions to those identified problems or issues. 10.) Approach the decision makers through mail, email, groups or organizations of which they are members and good old cold calling in person. Targeting specific desirable risks always results in a better outcome than the shotgun approach. Simply learning and identifying the market class and risks that you want to write, approaching them in a professional systematic manner and focusing your resources on a goal will result in market share. Even those risks that do not choose to move, will refer others with surprising frequency. For us, it is important to remember that clients tend to run in the same circles and refer similar clients. This is to say that if you write a risk that falls below your desired class or premium level, you can count on that client to refer similar associates. We find it more productive to focus our resources on those classes of business that meet our minimum standards even if it takes several years to put them on the books because likewise, those clients refer similar associates and before you know it you have a book full of desirable business. In a word (or 20), the best business does not go through mailers and the phone book to find an agent; they ask their trusted friends and associates. The most desirable class of client also tends to focus on value and professionalism rather than price. Knowing your product, effectively communicating that knowledge and providing the client with what they need will allow you to maintain a higher average premium since those client's are typically less focused on price and more focused on the product and assurance that they are covered for their real exposures. Once you have successfully placed your desired accounts on the books, you must continue to provide exceptional support and consistently outperform your competitors in order to ensure retention. Focusing on the most desirable and profitable classes of business will ensure that you will have the resources available to consistently provide that service and build the book. If you start by building a book of high maintenance low revenue accounts, you may not have the resources necessary to climb to that next level. While 15 or 20 target accounts may not seem like a large number, it only takes 1 or 2 to make your year and build the credibility necessary to double that number in half the time going forward. Your target list will then evolve accordingly when those 1 or 2 start referring their associates. An added benefit of those referrals is that your cost of acquisition is reduced dramatically because your credibility has been established by your referring clients. Acquiring new business consumes many more resources than keeping it therefore the accounts already on the books are much more important than those still on the target list. With that in mind, the value of performance and consistent service levels that exceed your client's expectations after the sale cannot be understated. If your service level drops once you have the account in the drawer, your credibility goes with it. When word gets out that your service levels are below your client's expectations (and it will), your competitors will identify that problem and walk your most desirable client's out the back door. Of course I'm no expert and all of my comments may be complete dribble and only worth the paper they were not written on.

I just happened to hit this link this morning and read Tabasco's information. First of all great information for anyone in any industry! Second of all thank you for sharing and no it is not dribble information. It took time, thought and effort and shows your caring for others in this industry. I would add that this is also the reason you have built that kind of commercial business with this success in a short period of time! I have printed it for myself as a reminder as I too move forward to more commercial lines this year! You rock!

I Concur. Do you have any strategies or resoures that I can use to hire and train Commercial Producers?

Tabasco, that information is outstanding. Atleast for me, and I'm sure for others. I'm a newly licensed P&C broker in California. After 27 yrs in one line of work, (repossession and towing) your posting is perfect for someone to follow. Guess where I plan to go for my business?? I just want to thank you for the info. I'm sure it will help the new and older people out there.

All I write is commercial maybe I can help

Me too. Feel free to email me with any questions felix@guardianspecialtyins.com

Tobasco, My name is Michele and I have just recently broke away from the Captive side of insurance now working as an Agent for a brokerage here in Nevada. I am breaking into the commercial side of it and found what you wrote to be very informative! I would like to also give you kudos for this article as it will help fine tune my targeting markets and marketing strategy. So, thank you very much! Randrew54, One market that I would suggest to you would be Smoke Shops. A networking site that you may want to check into is www.meetup.com which you are able to go to your selected city and their are several groups you may join that have meetups at various places in your area. One that I have joined is the Small Business Owner group with in the meetup site. Good luck to you all and I look forward to sharing more as well as learning more here!! Michele Las Vegas, NV

Tabasco, Thank you for a very good article. Wish all producers and owners would read this one.